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Dive brief:
- Eli Lilly started Monday at $6.5 billion pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Houston, one of 10 locations the company has announced in the U.S. since 2020, according to a press release.
- Bechtel’s manufacturing and technology business unit supports the project, according to a job offer of the Reston, Virginia-based general contractor. Eli Lilly and Bechtel did not immediately confirm Bechtel’s involvement.
- The Houston project is part of it Eli Lilly’s $50 billion push to relocate drug production to the US, according to the pharmaceutical giant.
Diving knowledge:
The Houston innovator addresses several other multibillion-dollar sites in the company’s portfolio.
For example, last September, Eli Lilly announced plans to build one $5 billion manufacturing facility out of Richmond, Virginia, focusing on cancer and autoimmune treatments. Another major project announced in December includes a 6 billion dollar plant in Huntsville, Alabama, which will produce weight loss drugs and other pharmaceutical ingredients.
Other project sites include Lebanon, Indiana; Concord, North Carolina; Kenosha, Wisconsin; and Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, according to the release.
The Houston facility will use state-of-the-art technologies including machine learning, artificial intelligence, digitally integrated systems and advanced data analytics. Eli Lilly will also integrate digital automation across the site to streamline operations and ensure quality medicines, the statement said.
Once operational, the plant will manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients for Foundayo, Eli Lilly’s first synthetic oral GLP-1 weight loss drug, along with other small molecule drugs and advanced therapeutics, according to the press release.
“We are thrilled to launch our latest ‘medicines made in America’ location in the great state of Texas,” David Ricks, president and CEO of Eli Lilly, said in the statement. “We will manufacture and ship the latest Lilly products from Texas to people here at home and around the world.”
